The Washington Football Team signed free agent Charles Leno earlier this week after he had been released by the Bears.
That led to Washington then releasing starting right tackle Morgan Moses on Friday.
These are the kind of things that happen following a draft deep in offensive tackles. The Steelers dipped their toe into that deep offensive tackle class, but it wasn't until the fourth round when they selected Texas A&M's Dan Moore Jr.
Moore won't likely help the team at all this season -- unless it's an emergency.
The Steelers also signed Joe Haeg in the offseason to be their swing tackle behind Chuks Okorafor at left tackle and Zach Banner at right.
But it might behoove them to kick the tires on Moses.
The 30-year-old has started 96 consecutive games at both right and left tackle, though he's much better suited to play on the right side. The Steelers like Banner as their starting right tackle, but they could add Moses and slide Banner to the left side, where he could compete with Okorafor for the starting job.
According to Pro Football Focus, Moses was the 18th-highest graded offensive tackle in the league in 2020, finishing with an overall grade of 79.9 and a run-blocking grade of 84.7, which ranked seventh among offensive tackles.
For a team looking to run the ball more effectively in 2021, Moses would be a boon.
In 16 games last season, Okorafor had a run-blocking grade of 50.1, while Banner was at 69.3 in just over a half of football before tearing his ACL. Haeg had a run-blocking grade of 62.1 last season for the Buccaneers, though it came in just 127 offensive snaps.
Moses would be an immediate upgrade -- if he could be had at the right price.
The Steelers currently have $9.49 million in salary cap space. But a portion of that will still be needed to sign the remaining three picks in their draft class who have not been signed -- top pick Najee Harris, second-round tight end Pat Freiermuth and third-round center Kendrick Green.
Once those players are on the books, the Steelers will have a little more than $6 million in cap space remaining.
That should be enough to add Moses to the fold -- if they choose to do so -- to a two-year deal with a bigger payout in 2022, say two years at $12 million. And they should strongly consider doing so.
A line of Banner or Okorafor at left tackle, Kevin Dotson at left guard, B.J. Finney or Green at center, David DeCastro at right guard and Moses at right tackle looks pretty decent -- especially when it comes to run blocking.
